Tag: Dripping Springs Gin

Ah, the Negroni. As sexy as a silky red dress. The folks at Imbibe Magazine and Campari love it so much, they have organized an entire week, Negroni Week, to celebrate it while raising money for charitable causes around the world. This year, the third annual Negroni Week will be held June 1-7 at 33 bars in Austin.

Participating bars will mix Negroni variations and donate a portion of proceeds to a charity of their choice. More than 1,300 bars participated in 2014 and raised more than $120,000 for local charities.

The Negroni cocktail traces its origins to Florence, Italy starting in early 20th century and it has grown to be a staple because of its simplicity and balance of sweet and bitter flavors. The classic recipe is one part each of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. How could you mess that up?

Each gin had its strengths and the majority were downright delicious. The Waterloo Gin stood out as a favorite in our blind tasting. When blended in the Negronis, the individual botanical recipes of each gin brought out different flavor characteristics of the cocktail. The Austin Reserve Gin showed the best, with a lovely balance of booziness, herbal, citrus, sweet and bitter flavors all in one glass. Yum.

Negroni Blind Tasting

Many bars in town carry one or more of these local gins. In addition, several bars have created special recipes that substitute one or more of the classic ingredients in delicious variations on the Negroni. A few of our favorites include:

The area west of Oak Hill out to Dripping Springs, Texas is quickly becoming a booze barrio. The neighborhood is home to Revolution Spirits, the soon-to-open Deep Eddy Vodka distillery, and a new Treaty Oak Distilling facility that is under construction. San Luis Spirits, the maker of the Dripping Springs Vodka, has just added a new tasting bar and is offering distillery tours.

The distillery, located 25 miles west of Austin, has opened its doors to show off a micro-distilling process using gleaming 50 gallon copper stills. It’s quite a sight to see how they turn corn grown in the Midwest into vodka. As an added bonus, after the guided visit, guests are able to taste the finished goods at the newly installed bar. And hey, you get to keep a branded shot glass, too.

Tours are available each week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1 pm and 3 pm for $10 with a reservation. The tasting bar also sells full-size bottles of Dripping Springs spirits and other swag.

That’s not the only trick up the distillery’s sleeve. San Luis Spirits is expanding its lineup of spirits to add Dripping Springs Gin, officially released September 2. It joins other notable local gins Austin Reserve Gin, Genius Gin and Waterloo Gin in the fight for Austin’s love.

This isn’t the first go at making gin for San Luis Spirits. In the summer of 2011 they partnered with Don Short, former Coca-Cola executive, and Robert Del Grande, James Beard award winning chef, to create Roxor Gin. Unfortunately that product was shelved because of a TABC law that precluded contract distilling. That law has since changed, but it’s too late for Roxor. The good news is the venture helped them learn a lot about making gin.

“The recipe for Dripping Springs Gin is quite different from Roxor,” said Kevin Kelleher, co-owner of San Luis Spirits. “When Roxor ended, we agreed not to do another gin like it. It had 12 different botanicals and Dripping Springs has nine botanicals. We decided to go after four primary notes and do the best job that we can. Our gin has a focus on juniper, but we backed off on traditional juniper forward London Dry style. We use hibiscus for a floral scent, cardamom for spice, and Texas oranges and limes from Mexico to get a bright citrus flavor. We finish it with the artesian spring water with a lot of minerality that cuts the hard edges and makes the gin.”

Dripping Springs Gin is made by steeping the botanicals in Dripping Springs Vodka for 24 hours at 120 proof and then distilling it again. Four of the distillery’s 15 stills are used to make 40-gallon batches for very limited production. Each botanical has different “gravities,” which causes them to distil at different rates. Dripping Springs has worked to ensure it captures the ideal flow from the heart distillation to get the essence of each botanical without over cooking them. The gin then gets a light filtration to remove some of the oil that might make it cloudy.

The finished product is soft, smooth and flavorful. Try it in The Dripping Springs Vesper:

2 ounces Dripping Springs Vodka

2 ounces Dripping Springs Gin

.5 ounce Lillet Blanc

Shake ingredients together with ice, strain it into a chilled cocktail glass and serve it garnished with a lemon twist.